Hindsight
by notesonlife
Summary: When Hyuuga Neji dies, he sees the effect on his team, on his friends, and on Konoha.
1. Death

**Hindsight**

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**A/N:** This idea just latched onto me and refused to leave my already cluttered mind. So... here you go. Rather angsty... hell... really angsty. Well... enjoy! I think it may be multi-chaptered... one for each team... and one for Tenten, Lee, Gai, the Hyuugas, and Konoha. 

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Naruto.

**hindsight - **n. recognition of the realities, possibilities, or requirements of a situation, event, desicion, etc. after its occurance.

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**Chapter 1: Death**

He had died the way of the honorable shinobi – a battle to protect the ones he loved. By defeating his enemies, defending the ones he loved, defending Konoha, he sacrificed himself in a fight to save his precious village.

He did not feel pain, his body already numb from the blood already shed. He lay in a clearing, his blood and the blood of his enemies mixed in puddles of crimson. He had lost all chakra in his body, two kunai stabbed in his leg, another in his stomach.

He had heard faint sobbing, he had felt dampness on his chest, and he had seen wide brown orbs, shining cheeks, and chocolate brown strands tickling his face. It was dark, the moon already high in the sky.

"You can't die Neji! You can't..." she sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. He could taste the salty tears in his mouth as they landed softly on his face.

Using the last of his energy, he reached a trembling hand to stroke her hair. It was matted with blood... was it his own?

"You... tried to protect me, Neji... please... hold on... Lee's getting help..." Tenten sobbed, pulling out the knives and trying to stop the blood with her hands.

"Tenten..." he had murmured weakly. "The mission..."

"Neji... please stay alive..."

"I love you, Tenten..." he whispered so quietly, Tenten could not hear him.

"Neji... please, you can't die... it's not possible..."

Gently, Neji pushed Tenten closer to him, as his lips brushed hers, before his hold loosened and his arm dropped to the dirt.

He had died at the age of twenty, smiling.

* * *

The battle was long, excruciating, and dangerous. Five S-ranked missing-nins of the Hidden Mist had stolen a forbidden scroll that belonged to Konoha, and Team Gai was assigned to track him down. As an hour passed, and four of the five missing-ninja dead, Lee was thrown into a short concussion, leaving only Neji and Tenten. Both were close to their end, Neji breathing hard and already wounded deeply and Tenten's stores of supplies already vastly depleted. 

Neji had refused to allow Tenten get hurt, already angered when a enemy had stabbed Tenten rather roughly in the leg, forever scarring her.

Tenten had watched as Neji fought gracefully, his hands glowing faintly. His stance and his movements were impeccable, as he used every ultimate technique the Hyuuga clan had.

Until the Hidden Mist criminal pulled out his trump card.

In a flash, he had committed suicide, but tried to pull Neji and Tenten in with him. Neji had thrown Tenten out before the summoned demon could reach her, but putting himself in the direct way. Hyuuga Neji, stronger than the missing ninja, did not die instantly. But he was dying.

Neji was leaving, and they were five days away from any hospital.

He was head Branch Leader, no longer a caged bird with clipped wings, but a majestic flyer. He had seen the deaths of comrades, he had killed many, and he was an ANBU captain in all and every right. Hyuuga Neji was the best of the best, only under the command of the Hokage. He was happy with his life, although it was not as good as others, having lost his father and living as an inferior, he was happy for his friends, for his one love.

As least, as least she could live on.

* * *

Neji panted, his eyes staring into the ground beneath him. It was pitch black, and his Byakagun was not activating. There was a sharp pain in his side. 

_Damn bastard..._

Neji clutched it tightly, standing up although he could see nothing.

_Where am I?_

**Do you want to see them again?**

"Who... are you..." the Hyuuga murmured. The words echoed in his mind, but were also silent at the same time.

**None of your concern. Do you want to see them again?**

"Yes..."

**Then it will be so.**

"What... how..." Neji blinked. Was that light over there?

Neji walked warily towards it, and then started in a run. He would see them again; he would see his friends, his family, and his love! He reached the faint light, and the darkness disappeared.

He was back in Konoha.

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**A/N:** Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Please review. And that means NO flames. It is the beginning so more shall come. 


	2. Team 7

**A/N:** Enjoy. Thank you all reviewers and all readers. I think it'll be like five chapters or so. I won't do Kiba's team or Ino's team since Neji doesn't really affiliate with them, but I will do the Hyuugas and one chapter for Gai and Lee, and one for Tenten. So, yes, around five.  
**Disclaimer: **Don't own.

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**Chapter Two: Team 7**

Neji smiled a genuine smile. The sun kissed his body as he walked faster, to the one place he wanted to go. He walked faster, passing random villagers. Not one looked at him, but he didn't care, he didn't even notice. He passed by Ichiraku Ramen Bar, and stopped.

**Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi.**

_What?_

Neji realized the three familiar figures of Team 7.

Team 7. The legendary team that was proclaimed the next Sannin Three. Like Orochimaru, Sasuke left and the team was left broken.

Uzumaki Naruto, Kyuubi vessel and the one obnoxious hyperactive boy that made Neji open his eyes. The blue-eyed boy had defeated Neji in their first Chunnin exam, and how such a dropout could beat a Hyuuga prodigy was unimaginable. But Naruto turned heads as he yearned for acceptance and for his one goal in life: being Hokage. Neji respected the Hokage, saving him from the darkness. Naruto had turned his dream in reality, making his ambitions solid.

Haruno Sakura, best healer in Konoha, and the Hokage's girlfriend. She had once been a Sasuke-fangirl, but when Naruto went to hell and back for her, the girl had finally opened her eyes. Sasuke was still gone, still a missing-nin from Konoha, and still a mass murderer like his older brother.

Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja. Gai always challenged the ninja, in anything and everything, yet Kakashi persevered with luck alone. Neji respected the older ninja, for his skill as a ninja, and for defeating an enemy he could not.

Team 7... Neji respected every one of them... for what they contributed to Konoha... and for what Naruto contributed to himself. He wondered what Sasuke would react to the news that Neji died... but now he's back... and he's alive!

* * *

He walked closer to the quaint shop, pushing away the curtains. He smelled the scents of ramen fill his nose, and suddenly he was hungry.

"Naruto?" he said.

The blond ninja did not look back at the mention of his name.

"Naruto?" Neji repeated, walking up to the ninja and tapping his shoulder. Suddenly his hand went right through the boy as he gaped in horror.

_What the-_

**No one can see you.**

_Who are you?_

**No one can see you.**

Neji stared at his hands. They looked real enough.

"Naruto," he said a bit louder.

**No one can hear you.**

Neji watched in shock, as the boy stared down at his ramen, not touching it. He was silent, staring at the noodles. Neji looked over at the female of the team and he found her _crying_.

"Sakura. Stop crying," Kakashi murmured. "You're hurting Naruto more."

Only he seemed the most normal. Neji knew Kakashi lost almost everyone he loved, and he had long ago realized that things come and go.

Sakura sniffled. "But..."

"You never knew him," Naruto growled in a voice he never uttered at his girlfriend. Sakura was quiet, staring at the Kyuubi with shining green eyes.

"You never knew him like I did. He shouldn't have died."

Neji watched the boy, his eyes wide.

"He's a prodigy. Number one rookie. The best of the best. He shouldn't have died... Neji doesn't die!" Naruto yelled the last words, his fist slamming against the table. The ramen dropped to the floor discarded, but Naruto didn't even care. The boy shook slightly, and Sakura's hand dropped onto his shoulder. Silence filled the ramen stand, and Neji stared at Naruto. Was this really Uzumaki? Naruto always smiled, shouting insults and being hyperactive. Why was he so quiet, so angry but in so much control?

"It's not your fault," the kunoichi murmured.

Neji faintly remembered that Naruto assigned him that mission. That mission when his blood was shed... that mission when the demon took his life.

Naruto shook his head, and Neji saw the shimmer of tears. His eyes widened.

"Naruto..." he whispered.

Suddenly the Kyuubi stood up, his hands pushing against the table. Without saying a word to Sakura or Kakashi, he turned on his heel and walked out.

Neji stood up and followed him.

* * *

_Why am I here?_

**You wanted to.**

_Who are you?_

**Death.**

_What do you want?_

**It's what you want.**

_What?_

The voice did not answer, but its last words rang in his ears. Neji's chest burned as he watched Naruto slam his fist into the wall, glaring at the dent he caused.

"Neji," he murmured.

Neji was silent, watching the boy. Was he really that important to Naruto? Was he as important to Naruto as Naruto was to him?

"I'm sorry," the Hyuuga murmured, before leaving the blond boy alone. He took off at a run, leaving the Sixth Hokage behind. He remembered the memories he shared with the blond kitsune.

They had fought in the Chunnin exam, when Neji still believed that his fate was sealed, that he could not change it. When Neji was still the bird with clipped wings in a dark cage, when he was still bitter and arrogant, Naruto proved him wrong, showing him that not everything is permanent, that things, and fate, can change. Make your own destiny, he had said. "Unlike me, you are not a loser." And Neji lived by those words.

They had traveled together in the failed Sasuke retrieval mission, and Neji's belief that Naruto would stick to his promise to Sakura, and that Naruto would bring the Uchiha's sorry ass home strengthened as the team continued on, ticking off Chouji, and then himself. He dropped to the ground, dying, and he remembered how Naruto opened his eyes, showed him life can be changed. At least... at least he killed his opponent, he showed everyone that he was born excellent, a genius by every right. People believed in him, and he would show that Hyuuga Neji was indeed a Hyuuga, the best clan in Konoha, the best of the best. He was always in Naruto's debt for leading him to the light, and he still was. Naruto and Tenten were the first people he saw when he opened his eyes, in that hospital after he sacrificed his body to save his friends.

_Tenten._

Neji ran faster. He had to see her.

But his feet stopped him in front of the Hyuuga compound.

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**A/N: **Hope you liked! Well... things are starting to piece up... I know its short and it sucks... but, there's not much to write. A lot of drabble... since this is practically a drabble fic. Please review. 


	3. Hyuugas

**A/N:** Wow... I can't believe people actually like this. Thank you! It makes me very happy. So... here's the next part. Egads... who knew I had it in me to write angst? I hate angst... although most of my stuff is... weird, eh?  
Onward! Hyuugas!  
**Disclaimer: **Don't own, this is a hobby not a job, etc.

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**Chapter 3: Hyuugas**

Neji stared at the huge expanse of land he had lived in, grew up in, and had hated. The pond flowed steadily from a stream, and he walked over to watch the fish swim without a worry. He envied such carelessness, he always had. He lifted his head to watch the birds fly with smooth wings, before walking towards the house known as the Hyuuga compound.

The floor did not squeak under him, his footstep made no noise in the silent estate. He walked in a trance to a closed door. He gazed at it, a seal placed on it to keep it locked.

He slowly lifted his hand, before placing it on the door. It went through the screen as he suspected, and he walked in.

His room looked exactly how he left it. The organized room was dark with the shades covering the only small window, but light peeked through the gaps, giving his desk a luminous glow. His feet strode across the wooden floor to the desk, and a sharp pain resounded in his chest.

He gasped, stopping midway and collapsed to the ground.

He coughed violently, splattering blood that did not stain the floor. Panting heavily, he stared at his hands. They flickered faintly to just lines and creases, the pale color fading to match the brown floor. His eyes widened as he lifted them in the air. The sun passed through them, meeting his lavender eyes.

His breath got caught in his throat as he stood up and ran right through the door.

_I'm disappearing._

He skidded to a stop, his feet not making a single sound on the clean floor. He stopped as he heard footsteps, before lifting his head slowly. His gaze met those of a younger girl, who stared straight at him. She was thinner, too thin, with indigo hair past her shoulders. Her innocence seemed to be stripped from her, leaving her to bear the brutal horrors of life. She looked vulnerable, a ghastly look in her eyes.

"H-Hanabi-sama?"

Could she see him? Carefully, Neji took a step towards the girl, but she shook her head almost desperately.

"No... he couldn't be here... not him..."

"Hanabi!" he said louder, walking faster to her. He stopped in front of her, resting a hand on her shoulder lightly. It returned to its pale state, looking real and there.

Hanabi looked up at him, her eyes widening.

"N-Neji?" she stuttered.

Neji smiled softly down at his cousin, before she wrapped her arms around him. They went through him, and Hanabi opened her eyes, realizing what happened.

"N-Neji..."

"I don't know what's going on, Hanabi-sama..." Neji said quickly, but she didn't seem to hear.

"Neji... you're back..."

Neji stared stunned as his strong cousin began to cry. Streams of tears flowed down her ivory cheeks, her eyes glistening.

"Hanabi-sama..." Neji murmured tenderly.

Soft footsteps were heard around the corner. His head turned to the soft shy voice he remembered.

"Hanabi? Is that you?"

"Hinata-sama," he breathed.

She looked older, wearier, and like her sister, too thin. Her pale Hyuuga eyes lost its naivety, small lines lining them to make them look drained. Her smooth skin was as pale as the white robes hanging loosely on her frail body. She looked straight through him, not recognizing or even seeing he existed. The girl that always revered his presence, speaking quietly and shyly near him could not see. Hinata could not see him, and it disturbed the older boy, the pain slamming against his chest.

"Hanabi..." the older girl took her sister in her arms. Hanabi sobbed quietly on her robes as Neji watched from the side.

"Neji... Neji's back..."

Hinata's lips formed a small frown, before murmuring.

"Hanabi, you're seeing things again. Neji's..." she stopped, holding back tears Neji knew she wanted to shed.

"Neji's dead."

He stood outside of the Hyuuga estate, breathing hard. He could not stay there, watching his cousins weep, to shed tears kunoichi should not. It could not be happening, for Hinata to stay dry-eyed and be strong, and for Hanabi to cry, to be weak. His heart would not allow him to continue to watch the two most precious family members and the only family he considered, cry for him, the only two that saw him as a genius and a rightful Hyuuga clan leader, the two that strove to destroy the Hyuuga branches, so he could be their leader, the heir. Their efforts were in vain, for he did not exist. Not anymore.

He entered yet another violent coughing fit, his body flickering on the brink of reality and illusions.

So he wasn't completely real. He was an illusion, a ghost trapped in the world he had left.

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**A/N:** So this concludes yet another crappy chapter. Next are Gai and Lee!

The last part is Tenten... and the end of this story. So pwease review! -chibi eyes-


	4. Team Gai

**A/N:** Enjoy!  
**Disclaimer: **Don't own.

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**Chapter 4: Team Gai**

Neji wandered to his training site, his eyes downcast and his heart heavy. He had to see them, his team. They had spent the majority of their time training, practicing in the forest and the area marked as Training Grounds 13. He remembered the cries of youth by Gai-sensei, and the echoes by Lee. He remembered their training grounds were littered with weapons of all kinds, half-destroyed logs, and Kaiten-made craters.

His legs strode faster, and soon he was running.

He stopped.

Two figures stood at the training area, the smaller hitting a training log roughly, dents already made.

_Lee._

Neji walked closer, and he realized both were not wearing the usual green-as-grass green. They wore black, mourning his death. The rhythm was kept even as each strike resounded in a steady beat.

"Lee... stop..." Gai murmured half-heartedly.

The younger one shook his head angrily, continuing to hit against the tree. Gai sighed, dark bags under his eyes. His movements were slower, wearier, weaker. The once energetic "Konoha Green Beast" moved like an old man, with slow and steady steps as he watched his student. His fame as the Green Beast had slowly faded away and his crown handed over to Lee, who was wasting every second by straining his body even more.

Neji watched as Lee continued to attack the tree, his fists bloodied.

"I... I... promised him... that one day... one day I would... beat a genius... with hard work... but," Lee stopped, wiping at his tears angrily. "I... broke my promise..."

"Lee..."

"Gai-sensei..." Lee looked up, and Neji had to look away. The baby round face had been chiseled throughout the years, and he looked different, a way Neji never noticed. Neji remembered those days, when Lee would declare everyday, trying to prove he could beat him with hard work, before eating the dirt at Neji's feet.

"Why did he have to die? He... he was a genius..."

"In the world of the shinobi," Gai said solemnly, the exact opposite of his usual personality. "The good must die first. He did not deserve his fate; he did not deserve to lose a precious person so young and innocent. Neji will always be in our hearts as a genius, a master."

Lee nodded, wiping his eyes. Neji took a step closer, before breaking in a fit of violent coughing.

The two turned their heads, not seeing, but feeling.

Lee murmured softly to his teacher, "Gai-sensei, I want to be alone."

The old teacher nodded before leaving his student. Lee pounded the tree fiercely, unaware of his old partners approach. Rock Lee had grown up, considerably. Hard earned muscles rippled through the boy's body, as they contracted with each punch.

"Rock Lee..." Neji murmured, his fists clenched. The spontaneous and overly annoying boy had grown on him like green moss over his heart, there were times when Neji enjoyed those times he and Lee battled, especially when Lee could attack him faster than even Tenten's blows, heightening both their skills. Finally, after his death, after his final fall, he could acknowledge the green-clad boy's dream, to be as strong as him.

Lee stopped, turning, his eyes softening before his fists loosened against his sides.

"Tenten-chan."

Neji's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his lover's name, and he turned to meet eyes with Tenten.

* * *

Chocolate brown strands were pulled tightly, crisply in two buns, a black shirt and capris around her thinner body. Lips were curled down in a tight frown, face sealed of any emotion, as she looked almost haughtily at her teammate. But Neji could see, Byakagun or not, that inside, Tenten was dying. Behind the veil of impassiveness, she had shed tears he could not heal, no matter how strong or insistent he was. 

Lee walked through him – the feeling of nothing was still foreign – to meet Tenten. Strong arms wrapped around her, as she stood still in his arms. Waves of jealousy passed through Neji, that Lee was allowed to heal his Tenten, that Lee was to fix her.

But Tenten did not look at the taijutsu expert, she looked at _him_, or at least where he stood. Unlike Hanabi, she did not stare at him as a whole.

She stared into his eyes.

"Neji's here," she whispered, and Neji could see the tightening of Lee's fingers.

"Tenten-chan... Neji's..."

"Dead. I know," Tenten replied smoothly. Why wasn't she crying? Why wasn't she breaking down like everyone else?

Neji smiled softly, sadly. Tenten knew him well, Tenten knew him better than he knew himself. She knew he would hate to see her cry, he would hate to see her break down because of him.

"He's not here."

"Lee, Neji's here."

Tenten moved from Lee's arms, walking towards Neji.

His heart stopped, and a small smile curved on his lips.

Arms wrapped around him, as he dropped his around her slender waist. Then he felt tears. She sobbed quietly in his arms, begging, wishing she could hold him forever.

The world melted around them, and his eyes closed as the feeling of her body pressed against his kept him up, kept him alive. His world felt light, and her touch seemed to lessen.

"Tenten," he whispered her name once more, before the touch of her fingers against his skin disappeared and he was thrown back into darkness.

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**A/N: **I really don't know how I'll end this. Last one is the next one. I know I mushed Lee and Tenten, but I really want to finish this. 


	5. Epilogue

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay... mehh... school. I'm sorry this is the end, but I really can't continue you this. This was not expected to go the way it did, but, it leads me to strange places. Here you go.  
**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto. Or Neji. –sniff-

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**Chapter 5: Epilogue**

He was back at the Hyuuga mansion, the smell of wind and waters filling him. He gazed around him, there was no Hanabi, or Hinata, or anyone. He was alone.

His feet landed solid against the ground, and he looked down at flesh, real hands. He turned, a dash of noise behind him. Memories flooded him, making him relive moments in his life, his birth, the first time his Byakagun activated, his father.

_Where am I?_

No one responded, and he walks slowly. There was the creak of the wood floor under him and he turned the corner. Hyuuga Neji fell to his knees.

He was surrounded by other Hyuugas, other white-eyed dark-haired relatives that gazed down at him, a small smile on their lips.

"Neji..." a deep voice murmured, and Neji's blood ran cold. He looked up, big silver eyes disbelieving. The man was tall, ebony black curtains of hair falling across his shoulders, stern silver eyes and traditional Hyuuga robes. There was no seal across his forehead.

The man smiled, a hand out to lift Neji back to his feet.

"Hizashi-sama..." Neji breathed, before he bowed deep before him, nose touching the ground as his eyes glued to the floor by the older man's feet.

The man smiled softly, eyes crinkling.

"My son."

* * *

Carefully, Neji lifted himself off the floor, eyes still downcast. His heart pumped frantically in his chest –he wondered if he still had one, but he still does- as the other Hyuugas drift away, leaving Neji alone with his father. 

Strong arms rest on Neji's shoulders, as the man gazes at his son. They are of the same height... or maybe Neji is taller, he doesn't know. For the first time in a while, Neji is speechless, too embarrassed and shocked to do anything but stare at the hard wooden floor below them.

"Welcome..." his father finally said. "To my heaven."

"H-Heaven?"

His father nods, sweeping his arms around at the estate he showed. It was the old Hyuuga estate, Neji knew that, but...

"Didn't... didn't you want to escape this?"

Hizashi nodded, "I did. Then I merely understood I wanted to escape the discrimination."

Neji's eyes wandered up to the blank forehead, no seal present on his father's face. Hizashi turned, walking to the garden, and Neji followed.

"Were you the voice inside my mind?" he asked quietly.

Hizashi shook his head, eyes upwards towards the skies. "That... was the gods above. They send you to heaven."

"I-Is this also my heaven?" Neji asked quietly, indicating the soft peaceful Hyuuga estate.

"If it was, would you be asking?" his father replied. They stopped by the pool of water, where Neji spent much of his childhood with his father at.

Neji remembered those days, when his father would teach him to use the Byakagun by staring at the water, by making him see under it, see with his eyes, not his hands.

"You live in heaven the way you were the most happiest in life," Hizashi murmured. Neji gazed at his father. Hizashi was in his middle ages, the years that Neji remembered him as. And Neji knew, belatedly by the clan leader when he was still a Genin, that Hizashi's happiest moment was to pick his choice in his caged life.

Neji gazed down at the pool. His reflection showed himself, just how he died – or maybe a bit younger. He was strong and well built, wearing a variation of the Hyuuga robes. Onyx black hair contrasted with his pale skin, his cheekbones still refined and his face still handsome. The hiate-ate still rested across his forehead, and Neji's hands instinctively lifted to untie it.

The hiate-ate dropped down, falling into the pool, and making ripples in the water. It was a moment before Neji could see himself... and upon his forehead was still the seal cursed upon him.

"Your heaven does not care about the presence of the seal," his father whispered. "Your heaven is not here."

Neji turned to stare at his father. Hizashi's face was impassive, almost disappointed.

Slowly, his meaning of life reached Neji, and he nodded. He bent down, trying to reach for the hiate-ate under water.

It was no longer there. Neji searched for another moment, before standing.

"My heaven escapes the weight of a genius," he replied smoothly to his father. "My heaven escapes the burden of the ninja, and the burden of being a Hyuuga."

Hizashi's eyebrow lifted, and Neji took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see his father's dissatisfaction. He realized he cannot activate his Byakagun, but it does not seem to bother him.

"Very well," Hizashi murmured, and Neji exhaled. He looked back up, and the older Hyuuga gazed back.

"My heaven... my heaven also lives for... for one woman..."

Hizashi nodded, eyes almost softening although his lips still curled thin.

"When her time has come, she will come for you if you are her heaven."

Neji gazed at his father, before bowing again.

"A-Arigatou..."

The note of approval lifts Neji's heart. "You have done well... my son."

* * *

Neji waited, he does not remember how long and he was not counting, for Tenten to come. He waited at Training Arena 13, meditating under the large oak tree. It seemed like a dream, his eyes closed and his mind at peace. He knew his happiest moments was here, spending short-lived days in her arms, training when they felt it was necessary to stretch their muscles, before returning under the large oak tree to rest with her. He remembered her smile, her laugh, her skin. When his eyes finally opened, Tenten was running towards him, still bright and still as beautiful as he had always remembered her. 

"Neji!" she cried, and leaped into his arms, pushing him to the ground.

"Tenten..." he breathed, gazing up at her. She was crying, tears streaming down her face as she hugged him.

"I..." she looked up, and Neji wiped the tears from her cheeks. She smiled leaning in to kiss him.

"Welcome," he whispered into her lips. "Welcome to my heaven."

* * *

**A/N:** Woot! I finished, and actually on a happy tone! Yay! (i.e. nothing ends up happy in my stories...) It seems sorta unrealistic, but hey, that's heaven for you! 


End file.
